


Reconnecting With the Past

by nextavatar



Series: The Legend of Korra Continues [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Avatar Cycle, Avatar State, Cute, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Firebending & Firebenders, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami is Canon, Metalbending & Metalbenders, Post-Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Spiritbending & Spiritbenders (Avatar), Spirits, Waterbending & Waterbenders, head empty only korrasami/rangshi/kyalin, kyalin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nextavatar/pseuds/nextavatar
Summary: Korra has never completely given up on trying to reconnect with her past lives. But no matter what she tries, nothing seems to work. The avatar has lost almost all faith in her ability to rebuild that connection. That is until a chance encounter with a spirit gives her hope that she could once again connect with them.All has been relatively peaceful in Republic City and consequently the world since the earth nation held its last democratic election. Korra, Asami, Bolin, and Mako have been working with President Zhu Li and Varrick to complete all of the new housing developments for the displaced members of the city. All is going relatively well. Considering everything that team avatar has gone through in the last few years, it feels odd that there isn't some supernatural or political crisis for them to handle. While working on a housing development near the portal, Korra and Asami encounter some strange spirit, a fox, roaming around the development. A spirit that seems oddly familiar to the avatar.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Jinora/Kai (Avatar), Korra & Asami Sato, Korra/Asami Sato, Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II, Pema/Tenzin (Avatar)
Series: The Legend of Korra Continues [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969303
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	1. Just a Fox

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second story that I am currently working on rn, so I will do my best to update this regularly (though if you are familiar with my other story currently in progress, "Through Smoke and Ash: Azula's Redemption", you will know I update chapters pretty inconsistently, and most of the time multiple chapters per week). 
> 
> This is the second installation into my "The Legend of Korra Continues" series. You don't necessarily have to have read my first installation into the series to understand what is going on (Three Long Years...). It was mainly just about what happened while Korra was away in the Southern Water tribe between Books 3 and 4. But if you are interested, definitely go check it out. This will be much more action-packed, and I am super excited to write this!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates (and for more avatar content) follow me on tumblr @nextavatar

The nations were at peace. Spirits and humans now lived harmoniously together and democratic elections had been held throughout the earth nation. A new sense of balance has been ushered into the world, and for the first time in what seemed like forever no one was in need of a supernatural savior. Avatar Korra didn't know what to do with herself or how to feel about it. For so much of her life, people had relied on her to save them from things that no ordinary human could handle. She wasn't hoping for some ordeal to arise where she was needed to save entire nations. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel that something was going to come along and ruin it all. 

Korra and Asami were together in their kitchen, sipping on tea before they had to head to town to visit President Zhu Li at the new housing development. Korra hopped up onto the granite counter and sighed. "I don't know Asami", she told her girlfriend. "I feel like something is off."

Asami walked over to Korra and planted a gentle kiss on the woman's cheek. "I know." She put her hand on top of Korra's and stroked the back of it with her thumb. "But Zhu Li said there hasn't been any sign of trouble anywhere. And it's mostly thanks to you, my avatar."

Korra blushed. It always made her heart melt when Asami referred to her as 'her avatar'. "You're right. It's silly."

"No, it's not silly. You just care so much. That's only one of the many things I love about you." Asami drank the last of her tea and placed the dirty cup into the sink.

Korra leaped off the counter and walked up behind the engineer. She wrapped her arms around Asami, holding on tight. "I love you."

Asami turned around and embraced her avatar. "I love you too." She closed the gap between their lips in a chaste kiss and smiled. "Think about it. When we were off, saving the world, we never had time to enjoy times like this without worrying about some impending danger."

"Oh, It's been very nice. Getting to spend so much time alone with you." Korra let go of her girlfriend and smirked that dumb, crooked grin that Asami loved so much. "Without having to worry about any interruptions." She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly, making Asami cheeks go red. 

The engineer laughed, knowing exactly what her girlfriend was referring to. "You are never going to forgive Suyin for that, are you?" 

"Nope." Korra grabbed the keys to their Sato Mobile off the table in the middle of the room and tossed them to Asami. "Now, let's get going before you tempt me into doing something that will make us any later than we already are."

* * *

"Avatar Korra, Ms. Sato", Zhu Li called over to the two women as they approached the nearly finished housing development. The president of Republic City had been going over plans with Varrick, Bolin, and Mako when they arrived. As members of the Republic City Police, and close friends of the avatar, the two brothers were assigned to the project to ensure all goes well with it. 

"How are my two favorite girls?", Bolin asked, scooping them up in a hug. 

"Great!", Asami told her friend. 

"Sorry, we are late. Lost track of time", Korra told the group.

"It's alright", Mako assured them. "We were just looking over the plans with President Zhu Li and Varrick", Mako told the two women. "Though, they are the only ones who understand any of it."

Varrick pointed his thumb back to the two five-story buildings behind him. "These beauties are nearly finished, can you believe it?"

"I honestly can't. It seems like just yesterday we were setting up the refugee camp", Korra told the group. 

"Come on", Mako told Asami. "I'm sure your dying to look at these drawings."

"They're blueprints, Mako...", the engineer corrected him.

Asami, Mako, Varrick, and President Moon walked over to the front of the building to discuss the project's progress. Future Industries played a major role in the project and the CEO was eager to catch up on all of the progress that had been made. Bolin stayed behind with Korra. He leaned over to her and whispered, "So, you two lost track of time, huh?"

Without thinking about it, the avatar replied, "Yeah." Bolin nudged her side with his elbow. She looked at him and realizing what he meant by the smug look on his face. "Oh, come on Bo. Not because of that." Her cheeks turned red from embarrassment. "Come on..." Korra punched his shoulder teasingly and the two friends walked over to join the rest of the group. 

Asami grabbed Korra's arm and pulled the avatar to stand next to her. "Good news! President Zhu Li says we will be ready to move people into these buildings within the next week."

Korra smiled. This project had been a work in progress for a year now, and the two buildings in front of her were the last in the development to be completed. Most of the refugees had already been relocated, but a few families were still living in the camp. She would finally be able to give those families some peace of mind. 

"I cannot thank you enough, Ms. Sato", Zhu Li told Asami. "Without the help of future industries, I don't know how long it would have taken the city to come up with the funds to do all of this."

"I'm honored that I could help", Asami told the president. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Asami saw a streak of orange run by them to behind the buildings. Korra must have felt it the strange energy that came with it because she took Asami's hand and squeezed it. "Did you see that?", Asami whispered to Korra, not wanting to alarm the rest of the group.

"No", Korra told the engineer. "But something definitely grabbed my attention. I think it was a spirit." 

Bolin noticed the two women whispering to each other about something. Confused, he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Korra and Asami looked at each other and silently agreed that whatever was roaming near them needed to be investigated. The housing development was near the new portal, but spirits stayed far away from the site. If there was some spirit that decided to check the area out now, they needed to determine whether it was benevolent or not for the safety of the inhabitants of the development. "Has anyone reported seeing spirits around here lately?'

Zhu Li pushed her glasses up on her nose. "No one has reported anything. Why do you ask?"

Korra let go of Asami's hand and began walking behind the buildings. The rest of the group followed her, Asami staying close behind. "I think there might be one around here somewhere." 

"Is that bad?", Bolin asked, very worried about it. The earth bender puts his fists up defensively, ready to fight.

"I don't know", Korra told her friend. "Split up and look around." 

President Zhu Li and Varrick looked around the front of the building while Mako and Bolin searched the other building under construction. Asami and Korra split from the rest of the group and looked around the back of the two buildings. Construction materials, ladders, and equipment were still scattered all over the place; the spirit could have been hiding anywhere. They investigated the area for nearly ten minutes, scanning their surroundings and checking underneath everything, but couldn't find it. Everyone else was about ready to give up, seeing as the spirit wasn't coming out to attack anyone or making itself known, but Korra was determined to find the creature.

Everyone was probably right. Nothing was leaping out of the shadows or causing any trouble or harm to anyone, but the avatar could feel in her gut that the spirit was there for a reason. The energy she felt was light, good. But a spirit roaming in such an unusual spot didn't sit right with her. 

Just when the avatar was about to give in and end her search, she saw a fluffy, orange tail poking out from behind a pile of wood and rebar. "Asami", she whispered to her girlfriend who was not far behind her. Korra waved her hand motioning to the engineer that she had found it, approaching the creature slowly. As the two of them neared it, the spirit popped its head out from behind its hiding spot. It tilted its head to one side, curiously looking at them.

"Is that a fox?", Asami asked Korra. "Just, a fox?"

The spirit was definitely not dangerous, Korra could see that now. It seemed familiar to her even though she had never encountered such a creature before. Korra crouched down and slowly extended her hand to it. The fox cautiously moved from behind the stack and sniffed it. After a few seconds, the spirit rubbed its head onto Korra's hand. _Just like Naga,_ the avatar thought to herself. The fox spirit ran up to Asami and sat right in front of her.

"I think it's waiting for a head scratch", Korra laughed.

Asami bent down and stroked the fox's orange fur. The woman smiled, relieved that the spirit was friendly. "It's not even scared of us. Why do you think it's here?"

"No clue", Korra said. "Do I know you?", she asked the creature. It looked back at her and made some sort of yipping noise. The look it had on its face made it seem as if the fox was smiling at her. It walked in between the two of them and sat down, looking back and forth between them.

Varrick knocked over a bucket full of thick white paint while walking around the back of the building with Bolin and Zhul to see if Asami and Korra had found anything yet. "Spirits!", he yelled, staring at his paint-covered shoes. "These are designer!" The sudden commotion startled the spirit and it ran to hide behind the two women.

"Did you guys find it yet?", Bolin asked. He began to run up to his friends but once he spotted the creature behind them stopped in his tracks. "Watch out, it's right behind you!"

"Their friendly", Asami said with a sigh of relief. "Thankfully."

Bolin raised his eyebrows curiously. "Is that... a fox?" 

"I think so", Mako told his brother.

"Are you sure it's a friendly spirit?", Zhu Li asked Korra. It wasn't that she didn't trust the avatar's judgment. But being in charge of such a large project that was important to so many, the president had to be extra cautious. "We can't be too careful."

Korra smiled down at the fox curled up behind her and pet its head, trying to reassure it that it wasn't in any danger. "Yeah. But I don't know what they are doing around here."

"It is rather odd. There haven't been any 'spirit fox' sightings in the city since the portal opened. Ever", the president added. "I will need to talk to Tenzin and see if he or any of the other air benders guarding the portal have ever spotted any spirit like this one."

Varrick began to approach the fox, curious as ever to get a closer look at the spirit. "Fascinating", he remarked of the creature. As he got closer to it, the fox became increasingly more frightened of the stranger. Before Korra or Asami could stop him from coming any closer, it ran off in the direction of the portal. 

"Varrick...", Asami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

Zhu Li stared her husband down, disappointed at his lack of restraint. He shrugged and said, "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

The president shook her head and turned back to the two women. "Should we delay construction until we are confident that the spirit or any like it will come back?", she asked Korra and Asami. Asami had no clue. She wasn't the most spiritually inclined, so she was lost as to how they should proceed. Leaving the decision to Korra was most likely the best idea in this situation.

"No, I don't think so. It was only curious. Just alert the crew about it, and see if you can get some of the air benders on watch here until construction is done." Korra looked at Varrick and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think it will be coming back any time soon, since Varrick spooked it."

"I said I was sorry!"

Zhu Li rolled her eyes. "If you are sure." She sighed. "Anyhow... I would like to show Ms. Sato the inside before we finish up here."

Zhu Li walked around to the front of the building to grab some hard hats for the group. The buildings were mostly done, but it was still an active construction site. She handed everyone except Varrick and Mako a hard hat. "What about us?", he asked.

"You are not tracking wet paint across these new floors", Zhu Li told her husband, pointing at his wet shoes. Varrick huffed and crossed his arms. "What I need you to do is head over to Air Temple Island and tell Tenzin about the spirit. And see if you can find any information from him regarding any similar occurrences."

Being assigned an important task seemed to lift Varrick's spirits. "You can count on me", he said proudly.

"Mako?", Zhu Lia asked. She knew her husband would likely need some supervision to stay on topic.

"On it."

Varrick leaned over to kiss his wife's cheek then ran off to their Sato Mobile to began to drive off before Mako had a chance to catch up with him. Realizing he had left Mako behind, he pressed the brakes and skidded to a stop. Varrick stuck his head out of the driver's side window and shouted to the police officer, "Sorry! Got a little too excited." Mako rolled his eyes and hopped into the car. 

"Come along", Zhu Li told the remaining party members once Varrick and Mako were gone and led them into the buildings. 

* * *

Around midday, Asami and Korra got back to their house on the edge of the city. It had been a few hours since they had seen the fox spirit. As soon as they got home Korra began to think about it more. She had no doubt in her mind that it was a kind spirit, but there was some feeling of familiarity that it brought along with it. In her years of dealing with spirits as the avatar, Korra had never encountered anything like it. Why did the spirit decide to go poking around the housing development now? Why was it not scared of her and Asami? And why did she feel like it was there to find her? 

Korra slumped down in a chair in front of the long mirror in their room, staring back at her own reflection. Asami was putting on makeup in the bathroom connected to the room, trying to talk to Korra but she didn't notice. The avatar was stuck in her own mind, replaying her interaction with the spirit.

"Korra", Asami called out to her girlfriend. "Did you hear what I said?" She walked out of the bathroom while trying to clasp a gold necklace around her neck. Korra didn't respond to her question, still staring into the mirror. "Korra", she tried one more time, leaning on the edge of the entryway to their bathroom.

Korra shook her head to get herself out of the daze she was in and looked at her girlfriend. "What?"

"I was asking if you were ready yet, which you are." Asami walked over to Korra and took her hand to stand her up. "Beautiful. See, I told you would look good in this", she said, eyeing her girlfriend up and down. Korra was wearing a light blue blazer and suit pants, a white collared shirt, and a dark blue bow tie draping around the collar untied. The blazer had navy blue trimming on it, adding just enough flair to the outfit without it being too flashy. Asami bought the new outfit for the avatar while out shopping one day specifically for tonight's occasion. When she saw it styled on a mannequin, she knew she had to buy it for her girlfriend. And Korra was so excited to wear it when Asami gave it to her.

"I do look rather dashing", Korra said half-heartedly, attempting to make a joke to mask what was going on inside her head. There was really no use in trying to hide it from Asami. The engineer could already tell that something was up with Korra. Cracking jokes could not distract her from it.

"Are you still thinking about the fox?", Asami asked. She let go of Korra's hand and the avatar slumped back down.

"Yeah", Korra replied. "I felt like I knew it for some reason."

Asami rested her head on Korra's shoulders and wrapped her arms around the other woman's stomach. "Are you worried about it?", she asked.

"I'm not really worried about it..", Korra told her girlfriend. "It was just, weird is all."

"Well, at least we know it isn't dangerous", Asami reassured Korra. She planted a kiss on top of Korra's head. "And if it ever comes back, well, we will figure it all out from there." Knowing that Asami would be by her side through everything made things easier for the avatar. No matter what was going on or what uncertainties she had to face, Asami was her rock. Her center. The one, true, reliable constant.

Korra looked at her and Asami's reflection and grinned. Her girlfriend looked stunning as always in her floor-length burgundy dress. It was all enough to put her mind at ease. "No use in worrying about it right now." She looked Asami up and down in the mirror and turned to face the woman, placing her hands on Asami's hips. "You know, I never get tired of seeing you all dressed up like this." Korra smiled and stood up, still holding on to Asami's hips. "You look beautiful."

"We are going to be the best-dressed couple at the restaurant tonight", Asami said. 

Korra pulled Asami in for a quick kiss. "Yeah we are!" She stepped away from Asami and grabbed the pair of navy blue dress shoes at the foot of their bed. "Did Kya ever tell you who she is bringing with her?", she asked while slipping the right shoe on.

"No, she wouldn't tell me", Asami said. Tonight, Korra and Asami were going on a double date with Kya so they could meet the water bender's new girlfriend. She was very secretive about it all though, insisting her date's identity be a surprise for some reason. "She would have been more likely to tell you."

"I tried to get her to tell me, but she wouldn't break", Korra replied while sliding the second shoe on her left foot. "Do you think we know them? I honestly can't think of any reason she would want to make it a surprise if we didn't."

Asami thought to herself for a second. "Maybe." She laughed to herself. "One thing's for sure, though. Kya is VERY excited."

"Do you think it could be...", Korra started to say but thought about it for a second. "No. There's no way." She straightened her blazer in the mirror one last time and hooked her elbow around Asami's. "Ready to go, malady?"

Asami laughed. "Come on." 


	2. Double Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami go on a double date with Kya and her new girlfriend who just so happens to be a someone they know. They are more than happy for the two women and excited to know another wlw couple. As the group begins talking about the avatar's excursion to the new housing development, Korra begins to realize a possible explanation as to why the fox spirit may have seemed so familiar to her.

Kya was beyond excited for the night. She and Lin had already gotten to the restaurant and sat down, waiting for Korra and Asami to arrive. Lin was wracked with nerves. She had no doubt in her mind that Korra and Asami would be thrilled for the two women, but still. It was her idea to keep her identity a secret until tonight. If it had been up to Kya, they would have told the world they were dating already. But Lin desperately wanted to avoid making it a whole "thing". Doing this all in public was the best way she could figure to keep their reactions at least somewhat low key.

Lin was shaking her leg under the table anxiously. Kya placed her hand on Lin's thigh and kissed the woman's cheek. "You don't need to be nervous", Kya told Lin. "You know they will be happy for us."

"I know", Lina said with a sigh. "But you know how I am with all of this 'feelings' stuff. Plus, I haven't done anything like this since I dated your brother."

Kya laughed thinking back to Tenzin's reaction when the two women told him that they were together. He was so shocked and told her, "You couldn't have chosen someone who isn't my ex?" But regardless of the initial shock, he was genuinely happy for them. 

"I don't think I ever told you this", Kya began to tell her girlfriend. "But I kind of had a crush on you back when you and Tenzin were dating."

"Oh, I knew", Lin said confidently, smirking. "It was kind of obvious."

Kya scoffed and hit Lin's leg playfully. "Was not!"

"Honey, I am a detective and an earth bender. I could tell. Do you know how fast your heart rate would get sometimes when we were by ourselves?" Kya and Lin couldn't help but laugh at how painfully obvious the water bender's younger self had been. 

* * *

Korra and Asami made it to the restaurant at seven but didn't see Kya anywhere. Korra walked up to the hostess stand to ask about their reservation and was surprised that the rest of their group had already arrived and sat down. It was very unlike Kya to show up anywhere early. When the hostess took them back to the table and she saw Lin sitting with Kya, she understood. 

"You two look nice", Kya told Korra and Asami once they approached the table. Lin was squeezing Kya's hand under the table and took a deep breath, preparing herself. Kya placed their intertwined hands on the table for everyone to see. "This is my girlfriend, Lin."

The two women stood across from Kya and Lin, smiling at the two of them. The avatar had some suspicions Kya's new girlfriend was Lin, what with how attached at the hip the two had been. As for Asami, she had written off their closeness as friendship. She cursed herself for assuming such a thing since so many people had assumed the same thing of her and Korra's relationship. 

"I knew it", Korra said under her breath as she pulled out a chair for Asami. She took her seat next to the engineer and folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm so happy for you two!", Asami said to Kya. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I didn't want to make a big thing of it", Lin said seriously. 

Korra leaned back in her chair and said, "Welcome to the team, Cheif Beifong."

Lin shook her head and smiled. It had taken her so long to come to terms with her sexuality, much longer than she would have liked. The avatar's nonchalant attitude towards it put her mind at ease. Regardless of the more progressive ideals that some in Republic City had, a lot of people still held the belief that a woman could only love a man. Lin knew that Korra and Asami would have no problem with it, the two of them being women loving women themselves. Even so, every time she had to told someone about her relationship with Kya, she worried. Most of their friends and family had shocked reactions to their relationship and Lin's coming out, though they all fully supported them. It was nice to be accepted so quickly and without question. 

"The two of you make a great couple", Asami told them. 

A server came over to take their orders. They placed their entree orders and got some wine for the table. "Okay, so I have to know", Korra said once the server left after bringing over the wine and food. "How did you two end up together."

"The refugee camp", Lin replied, taking a sip of her wine. No one was at all surprised that the chief was so vague about it.

Kya rolled her eyes, knowing she would need to explain. "After I left Republic City all those years ago, we didn't really keep in touch as much as we should have. We were both going through some stuff, so we drifted apart. When both of us started working with the refugees, we hung out more like we did when we were kids." Kya grabbed Lin's shoulder. "I think that Lin should tell you the rest."

"Fine", Lin huffed. She couldn't say no to Kya but hated that she would have to explain further. "The more time I spent with Kya, I began to realize that I had feelings for her. And when you two told us that you were together, I started to come to terms with the fact that I liked women, as well as men. I told Kya all of this, not the part about me having feelings for her, but that I like women and men. She was very supportive." Lin kissed Kya's hand softly. "One day, I just couldn't hold it in anymore and I kissed her."

"And the rest is history", Kya said, smiling at her girlfriend. She leaned over and gave Lin a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright, alright... Enough with all of this gushy stuff", Lin said, blushing. "So, how did your meeting with President Moon go?"

"It went very well", Asami told them. "Everything is on schedule, and we will be able to move the last of the displaced families in soon."

"What about the fox?", Kya asked. "I talked to Tenzin earlier and he mentioned something about it, though he didn't go into much detail. He and Jinora were too focused on doing research for me to get any real answers from them. They were very enthralled in it..."

"Oh, that...", Korra said, shoving a large portion of noodles into her mouth. Asami pinched the bridge of her nose and laughed at the avatar's lack of manners. She couldn't be too mad though, it was part of Korra's goofy charm. "Asami and I found a spirit fox at the construction site. It really liked us for some reason, but Varrick scared it off before we could really figure out why it was there."

Asami took Korra's hand and squeezed it. She had hoped that the topic wouldn't come up, seeing as it had been stressing Korra out so much. But it had, and Asami knew that Korra wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it now. She intertwined her fingers with Korra's so that her avatar might feel a bit more at ease about it. 

"President Moon informed me about the fox, but she assured me that it wasn't harmful", Lin replied. "Still, I do have to admit it is strange for a spirit to be lurking around the neighborhood like that."

"You know, Avatar Kyoshi had a little spirit fox friend", Kya told them, leaning over the table eagerly. 

"She did?", Asami asked. 

She and Korra had done extensive research on the past avatar's after Korra's connection to them was severed. Korra had tried for years to reestablish that connection but nothing seemed to work. Learning about her past lives was at least some way for the avatar to be connected with them. But Avatar Kyoshi was still a mystery. It was a well-known fact that texts on earth kingdom history were not the most reliable, especially when it came to Kyoshi's personal life. Historians were known to change the stories to make them more 'suitable' or 'patriotic' in their eyes. The texts said that Kyoshi was more in tune with the spirit world, but a spirit fox had never been mentioned specifically. How Kya knew things about the earth avatar that wasn't in any of the history books baffled them.

"Yep. It found Kyoshi after her friend's death and stayed by her side until she died. Which was over 200 years, so it must have really liked her", Kya said.

This might explain why it seemed so familiar to Korra. But with her past lives severed, it still didn't make complete sense. "How do you know so much about Kyoshi?", the avatar asked. "I mean, first, you knew that she loved both men and women. And now you are telling me that she had a spirit fox companion her whole life, but none of the history on her even mentions it."

"She is indeed a mysterious avatar", Lin added. 

Kya sat back in her chair and explained. "When I came out to my dad, Kyoshi came to him and told him all about her personal life. According to him, she was one of his past lives who brought themselves forward the most unexpectedly, whenever she wanted to. Wasn't much he could do about. Then he told me all about it because he knew that it would help me to feel more comfortable with myself." She paused and took a sip of wine. "Not much has changed in the last thirty or so years, and people could be so cruel when they found out I loved differently than what they saw as 'the norm'". 

All of the women nodded in agreement, sadly having experienced some type of mistreatment because of who they loved before. 

"I wish there was some way I could talk to her myself. To all of the past avatars", Korra sighed. "Then maybe I could figure out why the fox was there, and why I felt like I knew it..." 

"Chin up kid", Lin told the avatar. She was aware that Korra partly blamed herself for the severed connections, but it wasn't Korra's fault. After all, the avatar had to face the combined power of spirits, the force of pure chaos and evil known as Vatuu, and her deranged uncle when it all happened. "Kya and I will help you figure it all out. Don't really know how helpful I can be but, still." 

"And you know I will always be by your side", Asami assured her avatar, planting a gentle kiss on Korra's cheek. 

"We will all help you", Kya said lovingly. "Yangchen knows that the rest of my family is already excitedly trying to figure it all out."

"Thanks, you guys", Korra said. She knew that her friends would have her back, but it was still nice to be reassured. 

* * *

The topic of Kyoshi and the spirit fox didn't come up again after their initial conversation during dinner. Everyone could tell that it troubled Korra, and in turn, Asami, and tonight was meant to be a fun time. They ate their meals and updated each other on what else had been going on in their lives since the last time they had all seen eachother. When the double date came to an end, they said their goodbyes. Lin and Kya walked back to Lin's apartment in the middle of the city while Korra and Asami drove back to their house. 

As Kya and Lin were walking through downtown, Kya wrapped her arm around Lin's. "See", she told her girlfriend slyly. "What did I tell you? Piece of cake."

Lin grinned and kissed the side of Kya's head. "Yes, you did." She paused. "I feel bad for the kid."

"Korra?", Kya asked. Lin nodded. "Me too. She has been through so much already. I hate that she never seems to get any peace."

"I didn't mention it during dinner, but after what you said, I couldn't help but wonder if Kyoshi could be trying to send her a message or something."

"I thought the same thing" Kya agreed. "We shouldn't say anything until we know more. I mean, we don't even know if Avatar Kyoshi, or any of the avatars, are in spirit world anymore."

Lin noticed that Kya was sad, thinking about whether or not the past avatars were still present in the spirit world since the avatar's connections had been cut off. It troubled Kya for a long time, not knowing whether or not her father was still out there somewhere or whether he disappeared. Lin tilted Kya's face up to her's and closed the gap between their lips. "I'm sure they are still out there, watching over us", she assured the water bender. "But you are right, we shouldn't mention it to her just yet. For all we know, all of the past avatars are resting peacefully, living out their lives in the spirit world right now and it was all a random thing. I would hate to give Korra false hope for no reason."


	3. The Journal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin finds a journal that could help Korra figure somethings out. Maybe not the whole fox fiasco, but it could bring her closer to her past lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Lol, didn't realize how long this chapter was until I posted it. Oh well. I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it too!

The phone rang in their kitchen, startling Korra and waking her up. She looked to her left and saw Asami was still sound asleep, unfazed by the interruption to the silence that surrounded them and holding onto Korra's arm with her head nuzzled into the avatar's shoulder. Korra gently slid her arm from the engineer's grasp and quietly stood up from the bed so that she wouldn't disturb the beautiful, sleeping woman in the bed next to her.

She tiptoed out of their room and into the kitchen to answer the phone. "Hello", she said groggily, her eyes still hazy from sleep. She looked out of the window above the sink and noticed that the sun had just started to peek over the horizon. It was a lot earlier in the morning than she would usually have woken up. If it hadn't been for the phone ringing, she would still be in bed cuddled next to the love of her life and she was annoyed she wasn't doing that right now. 

"Korra?", the voice on the other end of the line asked. It was Tenzin. "You sound like you just woke up. Did I wake you?"

The avatar yawned and stretched, extending her free arm above her head. "Yeah... so this better be good."

She heard a woman's voice in the background telling Tenzin that she was right. It was Pema, who would probably told Tenzin not to call Korra and Asami's house this early in the morning. "See, I told you", the woman grunted, her voice faint in the speaker. Korra couldn't help but laugh to herself when Tenzin sighed.

"Pema said you two would probably still be asleep, but I have something exciting I need to tell you." Korra could almost hear the air bender's elation leaving his body through the speaker. There was a short pause from the other end.

"Well, are you going to tell me what it is?", Korra asked.

"Right", Tenzin started. He cleared his throat and attempted to be more serious. "After your outing with Kya, I spoke with her briefly on the phone. She mentioned something about Avatar Kyoshi having a spirit fox companion, which I was not aware. In all of the research Jinora and I have been doing, nothing ever mentioned anything about it. But then again, my sister seems to know a lot more about Kyoshi than I or any historians do..."

Tenzin's voice trailed off in thought.

"Get to the point Tenzin", Korra said, audibly annoyed by his rambling. It really was way too early for this.

The air bender's lack of focus was out of character for him seeing as he was normally so well put together. Whatever he found must have been pretty spectacular for him to be acting this way. 

"Sorry. After what Kya said, I took the liberty of going through my father's old things here, hoping I would find something, and I did."

Hearing this washed away any grogginess left in Korra. The tired feelings she felt fled her body, replaced by intrigue and excitement. "Did you find another one of his journals?", she asked. 

Several years after she was revealed as the avatar, the White Lotus provided her with several journals written by Aang. Each of them detailed his journeys, every day life, and what he learned as the avatar. All left for his next reincarnation to learn from. Korra read each and every one of them while she was training at the compound back in the South Pole more than once. They provided her with encouragement and answers to the questions she had concerning her avatarhood in her early years. If Tenzin had found another journal, she hoped it could help her now just as the others had.

"No", he said with an air of suspense. "Even better. I found a journal from the 'Era of Kyoshi'."

Korra's eyes widened. She nearly dropped the phone from the shock. If it had anything to do with Kyoshi specifically, which she assumed it did, this would be the first time someone had found anything of the sort in forever. All other known personal texts concerning Kyoshi, regardless of whether or not they were written by her or someone close to her, were held under strict lock and key in Ba Sing Se before a fire destroyed most of them over two hundred years ago. She almost didn't know what to say.

"Korra? You there?", Tenzin asked when he didn't hear a response.

Korra shook her head. "Yeah. I can't believe it though." She paused and thought to herself for a second. How could he not have known that Aang had this journal and that it was sitting in his house all of this time? "Tenzin", she asserted. "You're telling me that you guys have had this in your possession the whole time. And you are just now finding it?"

"I have seen it before in my dad's things. Until now, I never thought much about it", Tenzin began to explain. "Can't say why he never said anything about it though. Plus, it's an old fire nation military issued journal. Most of the entries are very formal, real militaristic. But, while I was digging for information on Kyoshi because of mine and Kya's discussion, I remembered that her bodyguard was a high ranking officer in the fire nation army. So, I put two and two together and gave it another look. And, Korra, it's Rangi's! The first dozen or so entries don't mention Kyoshi at all, but after that, they make note of Kyoshi all of the time!" Tenzin was shouting with excitement as he uttered those last few sentences.

Her head began to spin as she thought about all of the possibilities that the journal could hold. Kyoshi was one of the past avatars Korra so desperately wanted to know more about, especially because of what Kya told her about the earth avatar a few years ago. But given the unreliability of the documents about her history, it had always been tough. Considering everything that had happened the day before and the fact that Korra was now being presented with something more, she could hardly stand not having that journal in her hands right at that moment.

"Korra", Tenzin said in a softer tone while Korra was thinking. "I know that this doesn't really give you any answers to the whole spirit fox problem, and it may not have been what either of up hoped I'd find, but there is so much more to Avatar Kyoshi than we thought. If all of this is true..." His voice trailed off.

"Me and Asami will be over as soon as we can", the avatar interjected before Tenzin could continue. "We can figure out the fox thing later. Right now, I NEED to see what's in that book."

"See you soon, then I guess."

With that, Korra slammed the phone down and ran into her room. She could barely contain her excitement and jumped on top of Asami, wrapping her arms around the sleeping woman to wake her up. 

"Wake up!" Korra yelled.

Asami opened her eyes slightly, smiling at Korra on top of her. "What's gotten into you?", she asked.

Korra lifted herself onto her knees and grabbed Asami's hands to pull her up. "I just got off the phone with Tenzin. You are never going to believe what he found."

"What?" 

"Rangi's journal."

Asami stared at Korra, confused as if that name should have meant something to her.

"Avatar Kyoshi's bodyguard", Korra explained once she understood that her girlfriend hadn't made the connection between the name and Kyoshi. After all, just like everything in Kyoshi's life, her and Rangi's relationship was always described vaguely with seemingly little importance. Asami wouldn't have remembered the name from the few times it was referenced in the books they had read.

Asami could see Korra's excitement as she spoke about Tenzin's discovery. "Well, what are we waiting for then?"

Korra pushed herself away from Asami and jumped off the bed to get ready, but not before planting a gentle kiss on the other woman's cheek. "You to get up!"

* * *

"Korra, Asami!" Meelo and Ikki shouted in unison from the dock as the ferry pulled up to Air Temple Island. 

The avatar was far too anxious to wait for the gangway to be lowered to get off of the boat. She wrapped her arm around Asami without telling her what she was about to do and air bent their way off the boat. They landed softly on the wood planks, but Asami was no less surprised by it. She couldn't be mad though, she knew how excited Korra was. The avatar hadn't stopped talking about the journal the entire way to the port, and she was just happy to see Korra so excited about something. 

The air bender kids ran up to the women and greeted them with hugs.

"Where is everyone?", Korra asked them impatiently.

"In the courtyard", Ikki replied.

Korra didn't wait up for anyone and ran in the direction of where everyone else was. Asami shouted after her, but she didn't stop or turn around. "Come on", she yelled to them, waving her hand in the air as she continued uphill. 

Kya, Lin, Kai, and the rest of the air nomad family were huddled in a group in the center of the courtyard. Bolin and Opal sat on the stairs, giggling to each other at who knows what as Mako leaned against the column near them, rolling his eyes at how obnoxiously flirty the two were being. Once they all saw Korra approaching followed by Asami, Ikki, and Meelo, they turned their attention to them.

"You finally made it", Pema said to Korra. "I would like to apologize on behalf of my husband for waking you two up so early."

"No, I'm glad he did", Korra told her.

"Let's not keep everyone waiting. I'm sure you are eager to see that journal", Tenzin said to Korra. He led the group inside, the avatar following closely behind him. 

"Did he wake you guys up too?", Asami asked Lin and Kya while they followed inside. She hadn't expected so many people to be there.

"Ha, yeah", Lin replied. "He called us after he called you guys I'm guessing. This one wasn't so excited about getting up so early", she said, pointing her thumb in Kya's direction. 

Kya scoffed and pushed Lin's hand away. "Okay, at first maybe. But I wouldn't miss seeing what's in that journal for anything."

"And, we are here for Korra too."

"That too, but she already knew that", Kya said. Asami shook her head and laughed to herself. 

Once they were inside the house, everyone stood around a large table with dozens of scribbled upon papers littered across it. There was a red leather-bound journal stamped with the symbol for fire bending on the front cover sitting on the edge of the table which Jinora grabbed and handed to Korra.

"As you can see", she began, pointing to the papers behind her. "We have already started taking notes. And this doesn't even cover half of what's in here."

"You guys must have been up late", Asami added. Pema laughed, unfortunately knowing that to be true. 

"Yeah, and they wouldn't even let me help them", Meelo huffed.

"You wouldn't stop eating sticky buns around the journal!", Ikki told her brother. "And you fell asleep after like, an hour." The last comment was meant as a snide jab. 

Kora stared at the book in her hands. It was at least a hundred years old. How the pages hadn't started falling out or how it looked so clean and new baffled Korra. Ikki, Meelo, and Jinora were arguing around her, but she tuned their shouting out. Looking over at all of the notes strewn across the table, she was overwhelmed by how much Tenzin and Jinora had found. She hadn't imagined it could be so much, but that was more than alright with her. "What did you find?", she finally asked.

Jinora pulled her attention away from her bickering siblings and opened the journal in Korra's hands to a page she had marked off. "A ton, but I think you should read this first."

Korra scanned the page. Just as Tenzin said, the format of the writing did seem very militaristic, at least in the beginning. The words were close together but written in large handwriting so that it wasn't difficult to read. Asami wrapped her arm around Korra's waist and looked down at the entry as well. She began reading it aloud.

_#14 328 A.G. Day 5946 Era of Avatar Kyoshi_

Korra paused for a quick second and thought to herself about how odd it was to date something as the 'Era of Kyoshi'. She continued reading.

_It has now been 13 days since my mother and I arrived at the Northern Water Tribe in an attempt to heal the wounds Jianzhu inflicted upon her. At 0700 I woke up, prepared myself for the day, and ate a meal of rice and pickled fish. Promptly after, at 0732, I headed down to the infirmary to check on my mother. To my dismay, I was greeted by Atuat who told me to come back when my mother was awake. The woman always makes such a fuss about my and my mother's sleep schedule, telling us, "You are Hei Ran are going to collapse one day if you don't get more sleep" seemingly every day. As if I don't have trouble sleeping now as it is... I swear, if my mother hadn't taken such a liking to that arrogant, overly chummy woman I would have requested a different healer._

_At 0805 I went to an open patch of ice beyond the walls to practice stances and bending techniques for two hours. I know I shouldn't train for so long at one time. However, I needed to clear my head and it was the only way I could think of to do so. It's been a little over two weeks since Kyoshi and I separated from one another. I keep on expecting this to get easier, but the Kyoshi sized hole in my heart continues to grow relentlessly with each passing day (which is saying something seeing as she is already a giant). But I should know better than to think it would ever be easy to be so far away from her..._

When Korra finished reading the first page of the entry, Bolin nearly leaped out of his shoes from anticipation. Everyone who hadn't already seen the entry was glued to the words coming from Korra's mouth. Especially Asami. The way Rangi spoke about Avatar Kyoshi told her that there was much more to their relationship than historians let on. Maybe that was the reason Rangi wasn't ever talked about that much. Both her and Korra were developing suspicions as to the true nature of their bond, but neither one of them wanted to hold onto it as true until they heard it outright. Korra flipped to the next page so that she could continue reading the rest.

_It's almost lunchtime. I wonder what she is doing right now? Hopefully one of the air nomads watching over her is forcing her to eat. Yangchen knows I always had to remind her about it. That girl..._

_While I was out training, I thought back to all of the times I made her do horse stance. She really hated it, but it was necessary to keep her prepared for what her duties as the avatar could bring. I know that deep down she knew that, but she would never stop complaining. But, I know she loved it when I would 'distract' her while she was doing it. When I finished my stances, I looked out at the sea in front of me... And I had already been thinking about our days when we were on the run, so I couldn't stop the memory of that night on the beach from coming forward in my mind. It was so silly, I really shouldn't have been reminded of it, but I was. The way I just told her all of that stuff and started crying right in front of her, how she told me she DID feel loved... When she kissed me-_

As soon as those words came out Korra stopped, hardly believing the words she just said. Even though she knew Kyoshi loved women as well as men, she hadn't expected to read about an actual, personal confession of love to another woman BY Kyoshi. "When she kissed me", she whispered, going over the sentence to make sure she read that right. She looked over at Asami whose wide eyes were staring at that sentence, equally as mind-blown. But there it was...

Jinora leaned over to whisper to her father. "Yep, told you we should let her read that first."

"Keep going", Mako ushered her, nudging Korra with his elbow. 

_I wish I could kiss those lips again. See that freckly face, the smile that melts my heart, her sparkling green eyes, tell her how much I love her. DAMNED JIANZHU! WHY DID HE HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS! If it weren't for him, everyone would be living peacefully and happily back in Yokoya and my mother wouldn't be hurt, Yun wouldn't be dead, and I would still be by Kyoshi's side. Kyoshi..._

_End Entry #14_

Between the end marker for the entry and the last paragraph was the imprint of a tiny, dried water stain. Korra didn't want to believe that it came from a tear falling down Rangi's face as she wrote those words, but she knew it probably was.

"Woah", Opal whispered once Korra stopped reading.

Asami and Korra replied in unison. "Woah is right." 

"I feel like we just heard something we weren't supposed to", Bolin said bashfully. Opal tapped his head to stop him from talking.

"These entries read like that in every single one that we have looked at after this one. They always start off like Rangi is trying to be formal, but she never finishes that way", Tenzin told the group. "And the more you get into it, the list of names and events that are never mentioned in Avatar Kyoshi's history gets even bigger. Before that entry, I had never heard of Jianzhu. Nor Atuat. It's amazing the number of events in Kyoshi's early life this woman writes about that no one knows about. I mean, basically every single thing that happened between her and Kyoshi first meeting until they parted ways is documented in here. This single journal has more on Kyoshi's early life than anything else!"

"She clearly loved Kyoshi if she was able to remember all of that", Mako added.

"Did you know about Kyoshi and Rangi being together?", Lin whispered to her girlfriend. Kya shook her head no. It wasn't one of the things her father had told her about the great avatar. 

Tears began to pool in her eyes as she processed the words she had just read. She didn't know if the sudden wave of emotions came from the sadness Rangi displayed in her writing, the relief she felt when she finally read from the journal, or if it was because she was finally, actually seeing a side of Kyoshi she could connect to. Maybe it was a combination of all three.

If Tenzin and Jinora really hadn't even made it through half of the entries in the journal and the number of notes they had taken was any indication of what it contained, this was what Korra had been looking for. But not in dealing with the whole fox spirit fiasco. No, this book was a chance to finally feel reconnected to Kyoshi in a way she couldn't from any history book. Even if she couldn't reestablish that connection yet, or even ever, this was the closest thing she would get to it. And she was beyond grateful because of it. 

Without her having to say anything, Asami could see everything Korra was thinking. And that Korra was trying to keep it all in... She wiped the single tear that had slipped out from Korra's eye with her thumb and said, "I know."

With those two words, Korra let it all out. Asami pulled her in tightly, able to feel everything Korra was feeling and doing her best to keep tears of her own at bay. The avatar buried her face into Asami's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably into the deep red fabric of her shirt.

Everyone else stared at the two women, unsure of what to do. They couldn't possibly know how Korra was feeling after all of that. Kya took the book from Korra's hand and set it down on the table. "Why don't we give them so space", she said to the rest of the group, nodding her head towards the door. They did as she said and left the two of them alone.

"Should I have not told her to read that first?", Jinora asked her aunt as they exited, feeling guilty that it caused Korra to cry.

Kya shook her head. "No, you did good. It was what she needed", she assured the girl. And it was what she needed to hear too.

* * *

Asami allowed Korra to cry for a few minutes in silence before saying anything. Once it seemed like Korra was all cried out, she pulled a chair out for her to sit down and sat next to her. 

"We finally...", Korra began through sharp breaths. "We finally have a chance to connect with Kyoshi." She looked up and peered into Asami's eyes and smiled. "I have a chance, Asami." Korra didn't have to explain any further, knowing that Asami understood what she was trying to say.

"You do", Asami said softly, tucking the loose strands of brown hair in front of Korra's face behind her ear. "This is what you have been looking for. To get closer to her."

"I'm even more pissed at historians now for lying about all of this. I mean, who are they to just re-write one of the world's greatest avatar's history like that just so it fits their 'standards'? I can't even begin to imagine what else is in here that they kept hidden from everyone." 

Asami sighed, sharing the same sentiment. "The earth kingdom definitely does not have a good track record with honesty."

She trailed her fingers along the edges of leather-bound journal in front of her and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it. Worried that a page had come loose when Korra hugged her tightly with the book still in hand, she slowly opened it to where the protruding paper was. 

"What are you doing?", Korra asked.

"There's something here." Asami carefully unfolded the book. To her surprise, the paper didn't match the pages from the journal. Unlike those pages, this one didn't have any lines to write on. It wasn't a loose page from the journal at all, but a note. She handed it to Korra, figuring she should be the one to read it. 

"This handwriting is different", Korra observed. The more she looked at it, the more she realized it was familiar. "This is Aang's handwriting. ' _The location of several other Kyoshi journals'."_

Below the note was a set of map coordinates. Asami found the corresponding point on the large map that was hanging on the wall in the back of the room. "There. That's it. Looks like it would be about a day and a half trip by airship." She paused and smiled at Korra, still pointing to the spot on the map. "You wanna go?"

"For more journals?", Korra said excitedly. "Is that even a question? Yeah, I wanna go!" 

* * *

"You think they are okay in there?", Mako asked the group.

"They will be fine", Bolin assured him.

"I may not know them as well as the rest of you guys", Kai added. "But I can tell that as long as Korra has Asami by her side, she will be fine."

Jinora leaned over and kissed him on the cheek causing his cheeks to turn bright red. "It's so sweet that you recognize that."

Lin began to roll her eyes at the younger kids. She looked over to Kya who was sitting on the floor next to her and noticed she was staring in front of her like she was off somewhere on another planet. "You okay?", she asked. "I know Kyoshi kind of holds a special place in your heart too."

Kya reached up to grab Lin's hand and pulled her to the ground beside her. She leaned her head against the other woman's shoulder and hugged Lin's arm. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking", she said before pausing for a brief second. "I love you."

"Love you too", Lin replied with a grin. No matter how serious the woman tried to appear around others, as long as Kya was next to her she couldn't help but let her feelings show. "So much."

Suddenly, Korra threw the door leading to the hallway open. "Guys!", she shouted. "Look what Asami found." She handed the piece of paper over to Tenzin. "This is Aang's handwriting, right?"

Kya immediately stood up to go see the note. It was indeed written by their father.

"It is", Tenzin told Korra. "Where was this?"

"' _The location of several Kyoshi journals'._ Does that mean dad found more?", Kya asked her brother.

"I guess so." 

"It was stuck in between some pages in the book", Korra said to Tenzin.

"I can't believe I didn't see that before", Tenzin said lowly to himself.

"I don't know about you all, but Korra and I are going to check the location on the note tomorrow for more journals", Asami told everyone. "I looked at the map in there and it's probably a day and a half from here by airship. You all are more than welcome to come if you want to. That is if it is okay with Korra."

Korra smiled and threw her hands in the air. "The more the merrier! Besides, it's only thanks to you guys that I got this far."

"You know me and Lin are in", Kya said, snaking her arm around Lin's.

"I'm the chief of police. I can't just pick up and leave whenever I want to."

"Aw, but you see, that means you're the boss. You can take off whenever you want! Besides, it's not like there is something going on right now that needs you specific attention that can't be handed over to Keino for a few days."

Lin thought about it and Kya was right. Besides, things had been pretty peaceful in Republic City and she was way overdue for a vacation. It would be nice to get away from the constant hustle and bustle of the city with Kya. "Okay, yeah. I'll tag along."

Bolin pouted his lower lip and clasped his hands out in front of Lin. "If the chief of police also wants to give us some days off, Mako and I could come too", he begged of her.

Lin thought about it for a second. "Fine", she relented and Bolin cheered to himself. "But I expect you two to make up for any lost time." 

"Team Avatar is back in business baby", he shouted as he put his arm around Mako's shoulders.

"I have to go to back to Zaufo tomorrow, so I can't", Opal said much to Bolin's dismay. "Wish I could, but Wing and Wei have their final power disc match and I have already missed all of them. And my mom said she had something really important to tell me in person. She was very adamant that I needed to come home to hear it." This was the first Bolin was hearing of this conversation and Korra could tell it bothered him that she hadn't said anything before. It was unlike Opal to not share something with her partner, so she must just have found out.

"As for me and the kids", Tenzin began. "We would love to tag along, but I have things to take care of with the city council and I don't think you two would want these hooligans running around while you are searching for something so important." He ignored Jinora's distraught face and looked to Pema. "I can take care of Rohan and the kids if you want to go."

Pema almost fell over from how hard she laughed at that. "You, by yourself, watching all four of them... By yourself? I don't think so. There is a reason we need two of us to keep this place in one piece."

Jinora began to argue with her parents but Pema quickly shot a glare at her which told her not to. "If you have to stay, then I'll stay too", Kai told her.

"Okay, well, it's all settled then", Korra began. "'Team Avatar', as Bolin calls us, plus Lin and Kya will go looking for any other journals. We will come back and let you guys know what we found." She turned to Tenzin and showed him Rangi's journal. "Is it okay if I take this?"

Tenzin nodded his head yes. Some part of him didn't want to let it go because of the sheer amount of valuable information contained in its pages. But he could see that it meant so much more to Korra than it ever would to him or anyone else. And part of Kyoshi's missing story would be in the most capable of hands. "It's yours now."

Asami pointed at the four people who would be joining them on the airship. "Your four, meet us at twelve tomorrow. And make sure to pack for a hike, because it looks like we will have to do some climbing."

"Hold up", Lin interjected. "Climbing?"

* * *

Asami suggested that she and Korra go out to eat for lunch after they left Air Temple Island, but Korra was way too focused on getting into the journal. So, instead, they picked up some food to go from their favorite noodle shop, Tijuan's Noodle House, and went back to their place. As soon as Asami parked in the driveway, Korra jumped out of the car and ran inside. 

She grabbed the bag of food from the passenger side which Korra inevitably forgot and followed her into the house. When she walked in, Korra was already laying down on the couch in the den, holding the journal above her head and reading the first entry. Asami smiled and took the food into the kitchen to plat up their lunch. She hadn't realized how hungry she was since they left in a hurry that morning and hadn't eaten breakfast until she opened up the first container of food and smelled the savory broth.

"You know, I haven't forgotten about the fox", Korra said when Asami placed a bowl on the small table in front of the couch. She lifted her legs up so that Asami could sit down and rested them back down on her thighs.

"I didn't think you had."

Sure, Asami hoped that the stress surrounding the whole situation had been lifted given everything they found out today but she never expected her to just forget it so easily. "But...", she added, waiting for Korra to continue.

"But I'm not as stressed about it anymore", Korra told Asami. Her eyes never left the pages of the journal as she flipped through it. "And I have this gut feeling that if we do find the rest of Kyoshi's journals, everything will make sense."

Asami poked Korra's stomach with her chopsticks. "A gut feeling, huh?", she teased.

"Cut it out", Korra shouted through laughter. "Old book here."

"I kind of have that feeling too."

That made Korra pause and set the open journal down on her chest. She was definitely not expecting that response. "You do?"

Asami set the half-eaten bowl of noodles down and waved her hands for Korra to lift the book up so she could lay on top of her. She wrapped her arms around Korra's chest and closed her eyes, listening contently to her avatar's breathing. "Yeah, I do. I didn't tell you before when you mentioned that you said you felt like you knew the fox because I didn't want to add any more stress to the whole thing, but it kind of gave me... a vibe."

"A vibe?", Korra asked, scrunching her nose. She tickled Asami's sides as revenge for teasing her before.

"Yes, a vibe", Asami said as she laughed. Once Korra stopped her assault on Asami's ribs, she buried her head into Korra's neck and sighed. "I don't really know how to explain it. It wasn't anything like you felt, I don't think. But it just, gave off this energy."

Korra had to laugh. "Okay, vibe, energy. Are you sure you're Asami Sato?"

Asami lifted her head so she was looking directly down at Korra's. "I'm serious!"

"Oh, so you can tease me but I can't tease you?"

"I guess you're right", Asami conceded and put her head back onto Korra's shoulder. "But, for real though. You know I'm not really a 'spirity' person. But I really did get a vibe from that fox." Before Korra could comment again about her use of that word, she continued. "And now I have this feeling that we will get all the answers we need. Not just because I hope that we do, or because reading Rangi's journal filled me with all kinds of emotions, but because I for some reason just KNOW that we will."

Korra became serious again. "So, we both got that feeling then."

"Yeah."

"I don't know what it means, but I think it's good. Once we find those journals, I'm certain everything will come together the way it should."

Korra could feel Asami's cheeks become fuller as she smiled into her shoulder, filling her stomach with butterflies. She would never get tired of the way Asami made her feel just from the simplest of things like this. 

Asami was quiet while Korra continued to skim the journal, holding it above Asami's head with one hand and tracing soft circles on her back with the other. They had been cuddling on the couch like that for about thirty minutes and Korra made it through twenty-two of Rangi's journal entries already. The first thirteen were pretty short and simple. At most a half a page recounting what Rangi did during that day and night. But for some reason, after entry fourteen, the writing became more eloquent, detailed, and longer.

When she was halfway through reading the twenty-third entry, Korra gasped. "Kyoshi AND Rangi were part of a dao fei group!", she yelled, waking Asami up from the nearly asleep state she had been in. 

"What? The criminals?"

"Kyoshi's parents ran a group called 'The Flying Opera Company' that they eventually joined once Kyoshi found out she was the avatar."

Asami laughed, thinking about the absurdity of the group's name. "I wonder if that's when she started wearing her signature face paint. Read it to me."

Korra started in the middle of the entry. 

_I really hate to say it, and I never thought it would come to this, but I kind of miss Kirima and Wong. I never liked being part of the dao fei or The Flying Opera Company for either of us while we were on the run, especially since she was training to become with avatar in such an unconventional way, and from criminals nonetheless. I miss the feeling of being around a 'family' though, no matter how screwed up it was. And I'm not talking about the rest of their dao fei brethren. The way I see it, the world would be better off without them. Sure, I have my mom here, and now Atuat, (she's slowly growing on me), but it isn't quite the same. Back then, we fought and laughed with each other. Here, it's just always so quiet. I'm not saying I would willingly choose that lot over my blood relations or anything, but still... I do kind of miss it. Though I don't know if I would ever admit that to Kyoshi. And I would ESPECIALLY not admit that to them. Kyoshi would just act all smug and tell me she was right that they weren't all that bad. She was right though. It wasn't all that terrible in the end._

_It got me thinking. Maybe one day, if Kyoshi wants to spend the rest of her life with me, we can adopt a bunch of kids and make our own, big happy, chaotic family. I think she would make a great mom._

"That is so sweet", Asami said. "How old were they then? She couldn't have been more than 17 and she was already thinking about her future with Kyoshi. Rangi really was head over heels for her."

Korra didn't say anything after that. She was stuck thinking about the last two sentences in the entry which she hadn't gotten to before she read them aloud. "Asami?", Korra asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think, one day, you would ever see us having kids?" Asami didn't respond at first which worried Korra. Had she brought up the topic too soon? No, they had been dating for two years now. Wasn't this the time in a relationship couples started talking about things like this?

Finally, Asami spoke up. "You know, I never really used to see myself ever having kids. My mother died when I was so young and my father was absent most of my life. I was so scared at the thought of it, worried about how I could end up just like him, which is stupid thinking about it now because I will never be like him. But, with you...", her voice trailed off as she lifted her head to look into Korra's eyes. "With you, I do. I'm not scared about those things anymore." 

Again, Korra's stomach fluttered. She wouldn't have blamed Asami if she had answered differently, but that was the answer she had been hoping for. And when Asami said those words, she couldn't have been happier. "I love you so much", she said as she lifted her chin to kiss Asami.

A grin crept across Asami's face. "And I love you. More than I can even put into words."

Korra took in everything that was happening around her in that moment. Asami's smile, her voice, the leather journal in Korra's hand, the now lukewarm bowls of noodles sitting on the table beside them. Every detail, no matter how small or minute, she would lock away to keep forever. A perfect image of that time she would remember always.

Asami laid her head back down onto Korra's chest and eventually drifted off as she listened to her avatar's heartbeat. They stayed like that for hours, Korra reading the journal and Asami asleep on top of her. She didn't dare disturb Asami again. The woman was in dire need of some well-deserved rest considering all of the work she had been doing the past few weeks. As she continued to read, Korra took note of everything described in the journal as she flipped through its contents. The way Rangi described her and Kyoshi's past adventures while they were on the run, (which was also an important tidbit of information the history books so carelessly left out), became increasingly more detailed as the entries progressed. She could tell that as the days passed, Rangi reminisced more and more about the woman she loved and longed to be back by her side.

As Korra laid on the couch, slowly drifting off to sleep herself as the night grew further and further into darkness, she couldn't wait to find out more.


End file.
